


Devil May Care

by H_Faith_Marr



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angry Keith (Voltron), Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, BAMF Keith (Voltron), Diplomacy, Gen, Hugs, Hurt Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda?, Protective Keith (Voltron), Sassy Keith (Voltron), a little bit of, diplomacy gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 14:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19396144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H_Faith_Marr/pseuds/H_Faith_Marr
Summary: Keith has to deal with a few rude representatives at a diplomatic event… but they aren’t being rude to him. He watches and forces himself not to intervene as they insult his friends, lest he ruin their chances at an alliance. But when one of them gets physical… well, Keith has always been a bit reckless. Andno onehurts his friends and gets away with it.





	Devil May Care

Voltron was attending yet _another_ diplomatic affair, on a planet named Genisee. The Nisee were nominated as hosts purely for the fact that they were complete pacifists, and so the other two paranoid species interested in joining the Coalition, the Genabi and the Obaan, felt relatively secure in sending their representatives to speak to Voltron on behalf of their people. 

Keith had been told all of this by Allura in the mission brief. What he _hadn’t_ been told, was that the Genabi were colossal jerks. 

And so for the past few vargas he had been forced to watch his friends flounder with forced polite smiles and small steps to dance out of an overexcited Gena’s reach several times, and each time Keith had to restrain himself, viciously repeating the mantra _patience yields focus_ under his breath. Even if the bastards deserved a fist in the face for insulting his friends, or even breathing the same air as them. He knew Shiro could deal with a few insensitive queries, Lance was strong enough to take a couple harsh words, Allura was tough enough to rebut any lewd comment sent her way, Pidge was smart enough to turn any subtle insinuation on its head, Hunk was steady enough to handle a poorly considered joke or two…

Though Keith wondered why no one had approached him. It could have to do with his off-putting demeanour and discouraging scowl, but he didn't want to dismiss the diplomats’ courage too hastily. After all, they were visibly harassing his team in front of him. They couldn't just be stupid, right?

Case in point, the Gena who had somehow pinned Pidge in a corner half-hidden by some tapestry and a concession stand. If they'd had been allowed to bring their bayards Keith was certain the green paladin would have already decked the guy, but as it was, her smile was strained and body language tense and uncertain. 

He tore his gaze away, fuming. Pidge was competent, he reminded himself, she could deal with any problem sent her way. Heck, she was basically a force of nature unto herself on the battlefield. 

Except this wasn't a battlefield, she was unarmed, and the Gena was twice her size…

Keith turned back just as Pidge’s cry of consternation and fear reached him over the babbling chaos of the crowd. He was moving before his feet received conscious direction from his brain. The heat that had been simmering just under his skin the entire evening was doused by something completely new that now resided just behind his sternum, cold and dense and sharp.

Skidding to a stop at the corner, he took the situation in at a glance. The Gena’s hand around Pidge’s wrist. Her terrified face. The torn cloth of what used to be the shoulders and neckline of the dress Allura had leant to her. The people pressing in at the sides out of sheer curiosity, impeding the arrival of the other Paladins. 

Without missing a beat or looking away from the _monster_ in front of him, Keith slid off the suit jacket the princess had insisted he wear and draped it over Pidge’s bare shoulders, stepping in between her and the Gena to block the gazes of the encroaching crowd. 

Anyone who knew him would realize that this situation was dangerous, not because his rage was the fire and brimstone that scorched his enemies in battle, but because this cold fury was reserved for personal offences. And personal offences needed to be addressed personally. 

He placed a hand on the green paladin’s head, as if to reassure himself that she was here, in one piece. Without looking at her, his voice low and soft in a way that sent chills down the spines of those close enough to hear, the red paladin glared balefully at the offender. “You will regret laying a hand on my friend.”

A familiar weight landed on his shoulder, but Keith shrugged off Shiro’s hand and side-eyed him levelly. “Shiro, get Pidge and the others back to the ship. We are not allying ourselves with scum like this.” He hesitated, frowning. “Though… I'll apologize to the Nisee and the Obaan. _They_ , at least, have treated us civilly.”

The black paladin regarded him for a moment, then sighed resignedly. “Don't make me regret this, Keith.”

His answer was a sharp grin as he turned back to the Gena, teeth bared in challenge. “Seeing as this is a _diplomatic_ affair, I'll give you one chance to apologize, but choose your words carefully. The other option is far from pleasant.”

The Gena did not hesitate to sneer, obviously feeling relatively unthreatened facing only the red paladin now that the other four were returning to the ship. “I believe _I_ deserve an apology for wasting my time, paladin. I was only talking to the Green Paladin about our alliance, after all.”

“Your _alliance?_ ” Keith snarled incredulously, voice cracking with ice-cold fire. “You blew that all to shot when you put your hands on my teammate. We will not ally ourselves with bullies and cowards.” He squared his shoulders, fists clenched at his sides. “Does your culture have any equivalent to a duel?”

The other’s single eye lit up with a wicked gleam. “A battle of honor? Of course!” A calculating expression passed over his face. “Though we are both important people, so it wouldn't do to fight to the death. And if I recall correctly, you are unarmed?”

Keith's jaw was sore from gritting his teeth. “I don't need a weapon to deal with the likes of you.”

“The likes of me?” He repeated mildly. “And what would that be?”

That's when Keith saw it, the glance over his shoulder. He abruptly remembered that the Genabi had sent a party of four, and it clicked in his mind that the crowd was much quieter than before, and greatly dispersed. The Gena had been buying time, he realized, and had no intention of fighting him- at least, not alone. 

He processed all of this in a tick, and caught the Gena’s tiny nod right after. Just in time to sidestep as another Gena lunged at him from behind. 

What followed could only be described as a deadly dance, though also only on Keith's part. The Genabi were slow and abrupt in their movements, aggressive and direct in all of their attacks, which meant that they were easily read and easily avoided. The red paladin, on the other hand, moved like smoke between his assailants, attacking with quick, effective strikes to the arms and legs. Within moments all four of his opponents were rendered immobilized in the floor, groaning and whining pitifully. 

He crouched before the original offender, pinning him with his smouldering gaze as he nearly whispered. “The Galra can have you. It seems the Devils already do.”

Straightening without offering the chance to reply, Keith took two quick steps away from the floored Genabi and towards the Nisee ambassador, though careful to leave a decent distance so as not to appear threatening. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that ambassador was an aristocratic position here, and Keith bowed low. “I apologize for participating in such a brutal display on a night of peace, my lord.”

The Nisee returned the bow, just as low. “There is no need for apologies, my Lord Paladin. In both cases tonight you were not the instigator, and I do not find you guilty in the slightest. On the contrary, I find your defense of your team admirable. I only hope that the actions of the Genabi do not overly influence your decision tonight?”

Keith rose from the bow with a close-lipped smile. “I'll be sure to emphasize that only the Genabi were involved when I report to my team this evening. I am sure all others in this arrangement will be able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.”

“I'm sure,” the ambassador agreed with clear amusement. 

“And as a further show of good faith,” the Obaan representative spoke up, if a bit quietly. “Our people will deal with the mess on the floor and send them on their way before we reconvene.”

Keith nodded to her gratefully before addressing the Nisee again. “I should be getting back to my team, but we will be sure to contact you again once things have settled a bit.”

Both the Nisee and the Obaan inclined their heads respectfully as he backed out of the room. Once the doors were closed, he half-collapsed against a wall, breathing heavily. He was almost certain that he had just been possessed by the ghost of some diplomat, maybe one of Allura’s relatives, because he had never _once_ commanded that kind of control over his words. If he had not been riding a slight post-battle high of adrenaline, he might not have been able to say anything right at all. It probably said something about him, he mused, that he was more uncomfortable interacting peacefully at a diplomatic event that beating up a bunch of jerks at said diplomatic event. 

He'd better get back to the others. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Keith found the others in the castle’s medbay, where Coran was checking Pidge over for injuries. They all looked up when he entered, and Lance grinned. “Pidge told us what happened. Do we have to clean up any bodies?”

He barely registered the blue paladin’s words, and pushed past him to kneel in front of Pidge. “Are you alright? He didn't hurt you?” He turned to Coran before she had a chance to answer. “She’s okay?”

“Perfectly fine, Number Four. Just a bit shaken, is all.” He twirled his mustache around one finger knowingly. “Though I don’t suppose we’ll be needing to face those responsible.”

Keith’s gaze hardened. “I dealt with them.”

“Aw, thanks Keith,” Hunk clasped his hands in front of him. “I’m really, really glad I don’t have to talk to them again. They were so… so… _mean._ ”

Lance slung an arm around the yellow paladin’s shoulder. “Bona fide jerks.”

Allura, however, frowned. “What of the other ambassadors? Have we lost the alliance with them as well?”

Keith’s hand had made its way around Pidge’s without his notice, but he decided to leave it as he shared a small, smug smile with the princess. “As a matter of fact, the Nisee and Obaan seemed rather impressed by the display. I told them we’d contact them once things calmed down a bit.”

“Nice work, Keith,” Shiro uncrossed his arms with a smile as he offered that small bit of praise. “Sounds like you did some good down there.”

“We should call the Nisee,” Allura suggested, placing a hand on Shiro’s arm. “And reschedule.”

Keith tuned them out, no longer interested and realizing Pidge had yet to say anything. He squeezed her hand and murmured to her under his breath, so as to not draw the others’ attention. “Are you _really_ alright?”

Unexpectedly, Pidge threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. He heard a hardly breathed “I was so _scared_ ,” and cautiously brought his own arms up around her small back.

He carefully carded the fingers of one hand through her hair like Shiro would in order to calm him, revelling in the contact and the knowledge that she was safe, just as she, in turn, drew comfort from his presence.

And that was when Keith knew that they were going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to make a few things clear: 1) Keith respects his team's abilities to stick up for themselves, and doesn't want to belittle them by hovering. 2) At the end, we must remember that Pidge (like all of them, really) is still a _kid_ , and that event would have been _terrifying_. I'm not trying to downplay her character by making her look weaker. She _would_ have kicked that Gena's butt to next Tuesday if she had been armed. But in that situation (and as Keith had realized) she was basically defenceless.
> 
> I'm pointing this out because I know that people like to defend their favorite characters if they feel they haven't been done justice, and I wanted to clarify the above so there wouldn't be any misuderstandings. 
> 
> Shoot me a comment down below if you enjoyed, and give that kudos button a good old click. It's been a pleasure writing for you!


End file.
